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2013 Flex Lewis Classic Championships Review and Results

A standing room only crowd of over 1700 guests turned out to the Embassy Suites Conference Center for the event presented by Flex's sponsors including Gaspari Nutrition, Olympus Gym, AMI/Weider FLEX Magazine and GASP

Mike Salazar

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On Saturday, June 22nd, reigning Olympia 212 Showdown Champion Flex Lewis hosted the third annual Flex Lewis Classic NPC Bodybuilding Championships in Murfreesboro, TN. A standing room only crowd of over 1700 guests turned out to the Embassy Suites Conference Center for the event presented by Flex's sponsors including Gaspari Nutrition, Olympus Gym, AMI/Weider FLEX Magazine and GASP. "Flex and his training partner, co-promotor Sean Barber host their event in a first-class venue. As a sponsor and mentor to Flex, I am excited to see his level of commitment to make sure the athletes leave with a great impression that lasts a lifetime." said Rich Gaspari, Gaspari Nutrition -CEO.

6:30am Friday | Weigh InOver 100 competitors from 12 surrounding states packed the hallway at the Embassy Suites waiting to get registered and weighed. Each athlete had the opportunity to have their photo taken with Flex and took home a drawstring bag from Gaspari Nutrition packed with samples, a shaker and an official Flex Lewis Classic event t-shirt.

9:00am Saturday | Expo and PreJudgingThe event opened with a fitness expo featuring 20 sponsors and vendor exhibits, where fans could sample a variety of sports nutrition supplements, fitness apparel and health related products and services. "The expo was a great addition to the event, giving sponsors an opportunity to interact with guests and bodybuilding fans an opportunity to take photos with their favorite athletes." said Joe Volgey, Gaspari Nutrition –VP of Marketing. IFBB Pro League athletes Flex Lewis and featured guest poser Shawn Rhoden along special guests Hall of Famer Rich Gaspari and Women's Physique standout Dana Linn Bailey, spent hours greeting fans, taking photos and signing autographs before, during and after the event.

With over 500 guests at prejudging, Flex was very proud of the turnout this year, stating "On Thursday night we had 90 pre-registered athletes, so I hoped to reach 125 competitors. By the time prejudging started, a show record 156 competitors packed the dressing rooms ready to take to the stage."

6:30pm Saturday | Expo and FinalsA standing room only crowd of over 1600 guests plus IFBB Pro League athletes, including Brandon Curry and Brandy Leaver, Luis Santa, Ali Rosen, Yolly Alvarado and Valerie Haines came out to support the event. With a long list of classes ahead of them, both expeditors and judges moved the show along quickly. Just before intermission, co-promotor Sean Barber took the stage to introduce featured guest poser, Shawn Rhoden, 2013 Mr. Olympia hopeful. At the conclusion of Shawn's routine, Sean took the mic again, this time calling out Flex Lewis to the stage. After thanking the crowd for their support, Flex answered the call and stripped his promotor shirt off and hit several poses for the crowd along side Flex-a-tron. During intermission, Flex, Shawn and Dana headed over to the expo adjacent to the competition to greet fans one last time.

After a short intermission, the Top 5 competitors in each class were called out for final judging and trophy presentation. Before the start of the Open classes, Flex took the stage address the crowd about special guest Dana Linn Bailey. During intermission, both Flex and Dana learned that a great deal of guests were disappointed that Dana was not scheduled to guest pose. However, the popular athlete didn’t want to let her fans down so she stripped down to a sports bra and shorts, making her way from the stage into the crowd hitting poses for fan photos. At the end of the night, oversized middleweight Meshack Ochieng of Kenya with his full round muscle bellies, would take home the honor for the Men's Overall title. Earlier this year, Meshack met Flex at the 2013 Arnold Weekend where Flex invited him out to compete in his show.

By Sunday morning, co-promotors Flex Lewis and Sean Barber were already talking about the 2014 Flex Lewis Classic and promised to grow the show to an even larger venue to accommodate the growing number of competitors and guests. Stay tuned to FLEXonline.com for more information about this popular event.